Digital Commons Network^™

Oliphant-Ingham Named National Top 10 Faculty Member, Chaning Green

University of Mississippi News

Secondary education professor honored by Kappa Alpha Theta

Fall Commencement Ceremonies, University Of North Florida

Commencement Printed Materials

Program for the Fall Commencement ceremonies.

Metal Cutting Analogy For Establishing Friction Stir Welding Process Parameters, Sylvester Allen Stafford

Theses and Dissertations

A friction stir weld (FSW) is a solid state joining operation whose processing parameters are currently determined by lengthy trial and error methods. To implement FSWing rapidly in various applications will require an approach for predicting process parameters based on the physics of the process. Based on hot working conditions for metals, a kinematic model has been proposed for calculating the shear strain and shear strain rates during the FSW process, validation of the proposed model with direct measuring is difficult however. Since the shear strain and shear strain rates predicted for the FSW process, are similar to those predicted …

The Development Of A Model For Vascular Calcification And The Effects Of Magnesium Supplementation On In Vitro Calcification, Joshua Nathaniel Grant

Theses and Dissertations

Cardiovascular disease is most deadly medical condition in the United States. Medial vascular calcification is a disease that often precedes other more serious cardiovascular diseases that have high mortality. In order to research new therapies for the treatment of medial vascular calcification, an in vitro cell culture model must be developed that mimics the process in vivo. This disease is shown to be an active, cell-mediated process where the vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) in the arteries are differentiating into osteoblast-like cells and depositing hydroxyapatite mineral in the artery walls. By administering inorganic phosphate to cell culture medium, an osteogenic …

Simulation Modeling And Analysis Of Adjustable Service-Rate Queueing Models That Incorporate Feedback Control, Paul D. Babin

Theses and Dissertations

Research shows that in a system model, when the production rate is adjusted based on the number of items in queue, the nature of the model changes from an open-loop queueing system to a closed-loop feedback control system. Service-rate adjustment can be implemented in a discrete event simulation model, but the effect of this adjustment has not been thoroughly analyzed in the literature. This research considers the design of feedback signals to generate realistic simulation models of production system behavior. A series of simulation experiments is conducted to provide practical guidance for simulation modelers on how adding a service-rate adjustment …

Response Surface Analysis Of Trapped-Vortex Augmented Airfoils, Anup Devidas Zope

Theses and Dissertations

In this study, the effect of a passive trapped-vortex cell on lift to drag (L/D) ratio of an FFA-W3-301 airfoil is studied. The upper surface of the airfoil was modified to incorporate a cavity defined by seven parameters. The L/D ratio of the airfoil is modeled using a radial basis function metamodel. This model is used to find the optimal design parameter values that give the highest L/D. The numerical results indicate that the L/D ratio is most sensitive to the position on an airfoil’s upper surface at which the cavity starts, the position of the end point of the …

2015-12-11, Board Of Regents, Murray State University

Board of Regents Meeting Minutes

No abstract provided.

Isolation In The South: Poverty And Transportation Infrastructure In The Black Belt, Derrick Ryan Shapley

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the relationship between transportation infrastructure and social well-being in the United States South, especially in the Black Belt. Specifically, this study focuses on the impact of airport accessibility and improvements on social well-being within the community capital framework in which built capital and political capital acted as a foundational basis for the broader concept of positive community capital. The results indicated that many cumulative disadvantages exist in the Black Belt of the southern United States. The research found that a higher level of airport accessibility is associated with a lower level of poverty and higher levels of …

Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Case Study Of Mikey, Gabrielle Lober

Honors Theses

This paper describes Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) including diagnostic criteria, suspected causes, prevalence, comorbidities, and influences on client factors. A hypothetical case study is presented to give readers an illustration of what someone with ASD might look like. Possible treatment based on evidence and selected frame of references will be given for the hypothetical client. This paper is not all inclusive of the role of occupational therapy in the treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorder, but gives an illustrative example.

Illuminating The Experiences Of African-American Nursing Faculty Seeking Employment In Higher Education In Nursing, Vanessa Loyd

Dissertations

This study explored and described the experience of female African-American nursing faculty seeking employment in higher education in nursing. The lack of diversity in the nursing workforce has been attributed as a major underlying cause of disparity in healthcare in the United States. The importance of increasing the number of minority nursing faculty has been recognized as important for providing quality, culturally competent care. In other words, the shortage of minority nursing faculty, largely African-American, continues to present a pervasive problem for the nursing profession and for providing quality patient care. Pervasive problems include limited knowledge of the value systems …

Performance And Sustainability Benefits Of Concrete Containing Portland-Limestone Cement, Jameson Davis Shannon

Theses and Dissertations

Sustainability and reduction of environmental impacts have continued to increase in importance in the concrete marketplace. Portland-limestone cement (PLC) has been shown to reduce total energy consumed and CO2 produced during the cement manufacturing process. This material may also have the ability to benefit concrete properties, such as compressive strength and time of set. Other concrete performance measures of potential interest evaluated in this study include durability and modulus of elasticity. In this dissertation PLC was evaluated for its ability to further increase concrete sustainability, while at the same time providing advantageous properties. This study’s focus was to show that …

Religious Tourism And Economic Growth In Oil-Rich Countries: Evidence From Saudi Arabia, Ahmed Alodadi, James Benhin

Plymouth Business School

Key studies have identified the need to diversify the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia economy beyond its heavily oil-based status if it is to attain long-term sustainable growth. Tourism, in particular religious tourism, has been recognized as one key non-tradable sector that could promote this growth. This article applies a time-series approach to examine the impact of the tourism industry on the economic prosperity of the Kingdom between 1970 and 2011. The results show that tourism only plays a minor role in improving economic growth when the economy as a whole is taken into consideration. However, when isolating the non-oil sectors, …

The Role Of Endocannabinoids In Atherosclerosis, Anberitha Tyiona Matthews

Theses and Dissertations

Cardiovascular disease leads in morbidity and mortality in Western societies with no known cure. NADPH oxidase (Nox) contributes to atherosclerosis through the indirect activation of macrophages leading to the internalization of oxidized low density lipoproteins (oxLDL). Chronic inflammation in activated macrophages contributes to atherosclerosis. Because macrophages are positioned at the cross-roads of lipid metabolism in vessel walls, they are important in the cellular pathology of atherosclerosis. Components of the endocannabinoid (eCB) system are vital to atherosclerotic development, since the eCB system has been found to play an important role in the amelioration of atherosclerosis. The eCB system has several components, …

Willingness Of Mississippi's Nonindustrial Private Forest Landowners To Manage Forests For Ecosystem Services, Edward Mutandwa

Theses and Dissertations

Private forest land in Mississippi provides a wide range of ecosystem services. This study examined nonindustrial private forest (NIPF) landowner familiarity with ecosystem services and conservation programs and quantified the proportion of forest land they were interested in managing for ecosystem services as well as determined compensation levels required for implementing forest management strategies featuring management restriction to facilitate production of multiple ecosystem services. The data collection process was based on a structured questionnaire administered to 2,025 NIPF landowners in Mississippi. Findings indicated that landowner familiarity with conservation programs was low. However, they were familiar with ecosystem services found in …

Equipment And Protocols For Quasi-Static And Dynamic Tests Of High-Strength High-Ductility Concrete (Hshdc) And Very-High-Strength Concrete (Vhsc)), Brett Anthony Williams

Theses and Dissertations

This research developed the quasi-static and dynamic equipment and protocols for tests of both Very-High-Strength Concrete (VHSC) and High-Strength High-Ductility Concrete (HSHDC) to predict blast performance. VHSC was developed for high compressive strength (> 200 MPa). Using VHSC as the baseline material, HSHDC was developed and exhibits comparable compressive strength (> 150 MPa) and high tensile ductility (> 3% tensile strain). This research investigated quasi-static material properties including compression, tension, and flexure (third-point and pressure loadings). Additionally, dynamic blast load simulator (shock tube) tests were performed on simply-supported one-way panels in flexure. Subsequently, the material response in flexure was predicted …

Evaluation Of A Cultural Practice And 2,4-D-Based Herbicide Programs For Glyphosate-Resistant Palmer Amaranth Management, Benjamin Haynes Lawrence

Theses and Dissertations

Glyphosate-resistant Palmer amaranth (Amaranthus palmeri [S.] Wats) is an economically troublesome weed to southeastern United States soybean (Glycine max [L.] Merr.) growers. Palmer amaranth is troublesome due to its evolution of resistance to multiple herbicide modes of action, competiveness, and prolific seed production. Greenhouse studies were conducted at the Delta Research and Extension Center in Stoneville, MS to evaluate different rates of 2,4- dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) for control of Palmer amaranth. Field experiments were conducted at the Delta Research and Extension Center in Stoneville, MS in 2013 and 2014 to evaluate Palmer amaranth emergence using a cultural practice and a …

Superfluids Of Fermions In Spin-Orbit Coupled Systems And Photons Inside A Cavity, Yi-Xiang Yu

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation introduces some new properties of both superfluid phases of fermions with spin-orbit coupling (SOC) and superradiant phases of photons in an optical cavity. The effects of SOC on the phase transition between normal and superfluid phase are revealed; an unconventional crossover driven by SOC from the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) state to the Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) state is verified in three different systems; and two kinds of excitations, a Goldstone mode and a Higgs mode, are demonstrated to occur in a quantum optical system. We investigate the BCS superfluid state of two-component atomic Fermi gases in the presence of three …

Testing Local Municipality Hiring Procedures And Local Forms Of Government: Are Search Engines And Social Media Sites Used To Collect Supplemental Information About Applicants?, Joseph Wayne Denton

Theses and Dissertations

The relationship between the government and the governed is transforming into a digital collaboration of operations. The level of intensity for this collaboration between government and citizens have fallen behind that of the private sector. Web 2.0 tools, otherwise known as social media, internet search engines, and e-Government are now a stimulant for citizens to become informed about their government actions and to also interact with government in order to provide input to elected officials and appointed officials from citizens to the government concerning public policy making and other public concerns. This research seeks to examine the question of whether …

Investigating The Relationship Between Stream Gauge Stage And Nearby Soil Moisture In A Longleaf Pine Biome, Cheryl S. Mclaurin

Theses and Dissertations

With over 10,000 acres burned in wildland fires in 2014 in Mississippi, accurate fire hazard prediction is of great importance. Soil moisture, fuel moisture, and fire hazard are inextricably linked. Remote estimation of soil moisture in the Southeastern United States for fire hazard modeling is hampered by the use of models engineered for other physiographic regions and the prevalence of deep, fast-draining sands underneath heavy vegetation. United States Geologic Service hydrographs were investigated and compared to nearby soil moisture and precipitation readings in an attempt to identify the links between stream gauge readings and watershed soil moisture. Stream gauge peaks …

First Principles Investigation Of Substituted Strontium Hexaferrite, Vivek Dixit

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation investigates how the magnetic properties of strontium hexaferrite change upon the substitution of foreign atoms at the Fe sites. Strontium hexaferrite, SrFe12O19 is a commonly used hard magnetic material and is produced in large quantities (around 500,000 tons per year). For different applications of strontium hexaferrite, its magnetic properties can be tuned by a proper substitution of the foreign atoms. Experimental screening for a proper substitution is a cost-intensive and time-consuming process, whereas computationally it can be done more efficiently. We used the ‘density functional theory’ a first principles based method to study substituted strontium hexaferrite. The site …

Newsroom, Georgia Southern University

Newsroom (2006-2023)

• Nearly 1,600 degrees conferred during Fall Commencement

Utilization Of Bioscreen To Calculate Retardation Factor Of Petroleum Contaminants, And Biodegradation Rate For A Site In Montpelier, Indiana, Brittany M. Garner

Theses and Dissertations

In March 1994, a report was issued to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management after Jim Allen Maintenance, Inc. found levels of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) exceeding the level appropriate for action (100 parts per million) during an underground storage tank closure report assessment. Creek Run L.L.C Environmental Engineering was contracted by Jay Petroleum to complete an initial site characterization. Through quarterly monitoring of benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene, and methyl tert-butyl ether for 11 years, Creek Run L.L.C determined that biodegradation was occurring. Upon using BIOSCREEN, a contaminant transport modeling software that simulates natural attenuation over time, it was determined …

Cheating Within Online Assessments: A Comparison Of Cheating Behaviors In Proctored And Unproctored Environment, Hannah Street Owens

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to describe the frequencies and types of cheating behaviors occurring within proctored and unproctored testing environments for students enrolled in online courses and taking assessments through an online format. In addition, this study sought to examine relationships between demographic variables of gender, age, GPA, discipline of study, undergraduate/graduate status and knowledge of the institutional honor code and online cheating behaviors for students who had taken online assessments through proctored methods. Participants in this study included students enrolled as distance learning campus students who took online courses and online assessments through a large, 4-year, public, …

Solving Influence Diagrams Using Branch And Bound Search, Arindam Khaled

Theses and Dissertations

Influence diagrams (ID) are graphical frameworks for decision making in stochastic situations with mathematical models embedded in them. The goal of an optimal algorithm for an ID is to find a strategy that would maximize the expected utility. We will explain a few algorithms for influence diagrams in this thesis. There exists an obvious temporal ordering among decisions in an ID; and any information used in the past will always be available in the future: these two properties are respectively called the “regularity” and “noforgetting” assumptions. A limited memory influence diagram (LIMID) does not follow these two properties. The existing …

Effect Of Crude Protein Levels And Metaphylaxis On Health, Growth, And Performance Of Newly Received Stocker Calves And Subsequent Feedlot And Carcass Performance, Tyler John Braud

Theses and Dissertations

The objectives of this study were to evaluate the effects of: (1) metaphylactic antibiotic administration (none or Excede on arrival); and (2) receiving diet crude protein levels (17.1 % or 11.9 % CP) on respiratory disease incidence, mortality, and growth performance of beef calves received into a stocker system as well as the influence of stocker treatment on feedlot and carcass performance. For the stocker phase, steers (n = 244) were stratified by BW and randomly assigned to 20 pens. Treatments were randomly assigned in a 2 x 2 factorial study design. At the conclusion of the stocker phase, 76 …

Ethernet Over Plastic Optical Fiber For Use In The Control System Network For Automotive Applications, Ryan Nicholas Nazaretian

Theses and Dissertations

Plastic optical fiber (POF) for use in automotive applications is not a new concept and has been used in some vehicles for infotainment media distribution within the Media Oriented Systems Transport protocol. However, the use of POF for the control network’s physical layer is a concept that has not been implemented in automotive applications. Many aspects of a vehicle can be improved by implementing POF as the physical backbone for the control network. Currently, the Controller Area Network (CAN) is used as the primary backbone control network protocol for most automobiles as it is inexpensive and reliable. However, CAN is …

Characterization And Implementation Of Ground Tire Rubber As Post-Consumer Polymers For Asphalt Concrete, Gaylon L. Baumgardner

Theses and Dissertations

Asphalt binder modification is a common method of improving Hot-mix Asphalt (HMA) performance by enhancing mix properties and reducing or delaying three general HMA distress types: deformation (rutting and shoving), cracking (from repeated loads and low temperatures) and general deterioration (raveling and stripping). Since the early 1960’s, a common modified asphalt alternative has employed reclaimed rubber as an economical and environmental friendly method of recycling waste tires while improving asphalt physical and mechanical properties. Pavement network deterioration combined with increasing material costs makes polymer modification of asphalt binder desirable, with reclaimed rubber from waste tires being an attractive alternative which …

Cold In-Place Recycling Characterization Framework For Single Or Multiple Component Binder Systems, Ben C. Cox

Theses and Dissertations

Cold in-place recycling (CIR) is a pavement rehabilitation technique which has gained momentum in recent years. This momentum is due partly to its economic and sustainability characteristics, which has led to CIR market expansion. When pavement network deterioration is considered alongside increasing material costs, it is not beyond reason to expect demands on CIR to continue to increase. Historically, single component binder (SCB) systems, those with one stabilization binder (or two if the secondary binder dosage is 1% or less), have dominated the CIR market and could be considered the general state of practice. Common stabilization binders are either bituminous …

Design And Development Of A Stormwater Policy Decision-Making Tool, Stephanie Joy Sigman

Theses and Dissertations

Municipalities tend to develop their stormwater management policy by examining those of their neighboring communities, chosen out of convenience and perception of similarity rather than a purposeful, directed search. Alternatively, having a policy that is backed by science creates regulations that policy makers can confidently support. To address this issue, the model used in this study incorporates local rainfall and development data to analyze stormwater runoff volumes for various storm events using one year of development data from Chattanooga, Tennessee. The runoff values are used to analyze several policy combinations based on simplified policies, model policies, and customizable policies. Outputs …

Energy Cost Optimization For Strongly Stable Multi-Hop Green Cellular Networks, Weixian Liao

Theses and Dissertations

Last decade witnessed the explosive growth in mobile devices and their traffic demand, and hence the significant increase in the energy cost of the cellular service providers. One major component of energy expenditure comes from the operation of base stations. How to reduce energy cost of base stations while satisfying users’ soaring demands has become an imperative yet challenging problem. In this dissertation, we investigate the minimization of the long-term time-averaged expected energy cost while guaranteeing network strong stability. Specifically, considering flow routing, link scheduling, and energy constraints, we formulate a time-coupling stochastic Mixed-Integer Non-Linear Programming (MINLP) problem, which is …